Like this:

While judo athletes (judokas) don’t receive much, if any, national attention, there is a lot to be learned from this intense sport and the athletes that compete at its highest level. With the exception of the Olympic games and some martial arts circles, most judokas go unknown throughout their career. The sport of judo places extreme demands on an athlete’s body and mind. Having worked with judokas for the past three-and-a-half years, I believe there are some things every athlete can learn from judo.

Like this:

Marti Malloy produces a Juji Gatame to score Ippon and reach the -57 kg. final at the Zagreb Grand Prix on May 1, 2015 in Zagreb, Croatia.

It’s been more than a decade since a teenage Marti Malloy, just starting out as a serious judo competitor in Washington state, would set out around the region for judo clinics given by the sport’s most successful American athletes at the time.

When world champions Mike Swain or Jimmy Pedro, or fellow Washington native and Olympian Sandra Bacher, were teaching at a clinic or camp, there would be that Malloy kid, soaking up knowledge.

She was a good student.

Marti Malloy visits USA House at the Royal College of Art on July 30, 2012 in London.

Now 15 years on, Malloy has a bronze medal from the London 2012 Olympic Games, one of just a handful of judo medals won by Americans over the years. And she took silver at the 2013 world championships — another tournament where few Americans have been on the medal stand, in what is one of the more popular sports in Europe and Asia.

“Now I’m in the crazy position where I’m the one doing judo seminars,” said Malloy.

But while Malloy, now 29, has become undeniably one of American judo’s biggest stars and one of the nation’s strongest hopes for Olympic hardware in the sport in 2016, it might be her mindset about where she is in her judo trajectory that makes her so formidable.

All contestants must provide a valid U.S.J.F., U.S.J.I., or U.S.J.A. card. Foreign contestants must have the proper ID from their home country.

You must present the primary membership card that shows the insurance coverage is current. If you do not present the membership card, you must purchase a membership card on site. U.S.J.I., U.S.J.F and U.S.J.A. membership registration will be available at the tournament site.

Team Registration will be on-site only. Team Players must be registered for individual Shiai or Kata

Open Division event:
$20.00 payable only at the event after you register!

Waivers:
Each athlete is required to print and sign a waiver. Waivers will be collected on-site. Do not send in waiver forms. (download)

Non-Black Belt Consent Form
Any athlete that is not a black belt is required to have their instructor’s permission in order to compete. The consent forms will be collected on-site along with the participation waiver. (download)